Rochester Housing Authority employees demonstrate amid stalled negotiations

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Dozens who work for the Rochester Housing Authority hit the picket line Monday.

They say their concerns have been ignored by management and their union negotiations are at an impasse.

The employees aren’t actually walking off the job at this point. They say they want to draw some attention to their situation.

They are demonstrating outside of housing authority’s headquarters, hoping to drum up further support.

“They’re terribly understaffed. We need them to bring the staffing up. To get the staffing up they are going to have to pay comparable wages with the City of Rochester because a mechanic here doesn’t make the same as a mechanic in Rochester,” Robert Leonard, labor relations specialist with AFSCME Council 66, said.

In a statement, RHA said, “The Rochester Housing Authority continues to negotiate in good faith and follow the process established by the New York State Public Employment Relations Board.”

If you’re a client of the Rochester Housing Authority, it should be business as usual for the time-being.